ly spoke of business matters, but on one occasion he
requested me to sign my name as witness to some document, the contents
of which he did not tell me.

"He referred, however, to Monica as if she were to benefit substantially
under his will, and asked me if I considered it harmful for a girl to be
left an heiress. I assured him it would not be so in her case; both her
disposition and upbringing were such that money could not spoil her.

"'A season of adversity is often the best preparation for prosperity,'
he replied.

"I have remembered his words ever since.

"He sent for me on his deathbed, and I have sometimes wondered if there
were any secret he wished to confide to me. Most unfortunately I was
visiting a sick parishioner several miles away, and did not get the
message in time. When I arrived at the Manor he was past speech. He
tried to scrawl a few lines on a piece of paper, but the writing was
quite undecipherable. If he regretted any earthly act, it was too late
then to alter it; he was going to settle his great account."

While the Rector and the headmistress were talking, tea had been carried
into the garden, and the girls now busied themselves in attending on the
guests.

"I think the competitors must need refreshment more than we do," said
Mrs. Cross, as Cicely handed her the cream.

"They are not forgotten," said Miss Russell, "but they are only too
pleased to make themselves useful first."

Certainly the girls could not complain of being neglected; both cakes
and strawberries were waiting for them on a separate table, where Miss
Frazer was presiding.

When tea was over, the prizes were brought out, and the Rector, with a
few appropriate remarks, began to distribute the awards. Cicely went up
proudly to receive a pencil-case, and Nora Proctor, who had won the
egg-and-spoon race, was presented with a box of chocolates.

"First prize for high jump, Monica Courtenay," announced Mr. Cross.

Everyone looked round for Monica, but she was nowhere to be found.

"She was here just before tea," said Miss Humphreys.

"I saw their maid come and speak to her during the archery competition,"
said Beryl Austen. "She went away immediately."

"She was obliged to go to her mother, no doubt, and did not wish to
interrupt the shooting by saying good-bye," commented Miss Russell. "We
must keep her prize for her."

"She won't get the clapping, though," lamented Lindsay.

"I think Monica will be rather glad to